Yu Yu Hakusho: Remember the Child
by gametaken
Summary: Kurama finds himself face to face with a girl from the past, still in search of revenge for her slain family.
1. Default Chapter

Yu Yu Hakusho – Remember the Child

Chapter One

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters but I DO own this story. So :p

Author's Note: This story is inspired by a part in the first Samurai Deeper KYO manga series. In this story, Kurama meets the familiar face of Ido, a young cat demon (only a couple hundred years younger than Yoko Kurama) who Yoko Kurama helped when she was a child. You'll see as the story unfolds. Enjoy!

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Yusuke Urameshi walked down the street towards the video arcade, completely ignoring the after-school-help-session his history teacher insisted he take. He kicked an old can along as he went, whistling a tune on the way.

The can stopped by those oh-so-familiar dress shoes of his demon friend, Kurama. He looked up and saw him standing there with his hands in his pockets.

"Skipping your help session again, aye Yusuke?" Kurama teased.

"So?" Yusuke retorted. "What's it to you?"

"Nothing, really. I could care less about your education. You have a job to do. There's a demon in the human world causing all sorts of trouble with the human authority."

Yusuke's eyes opened wider at the sound of possible fun.

"Finally! I haven't had an assignment for weeks now!"

Kurama smirked. "This one should be fun for you, then. She likes to play pranks. All we know is that she's a cat demon with the power of levitation. You should get some more details at Koenma's office. Come on!"

They reached the Spirit World and were now standing before Koenma's large desk. The big screen was down and ready for viewing. Hiei was there, too. But just to see Yusuke's assignment.

Koenma sat in his large, purple chair, the character pacifier in his mouth.

"Alright, Yusuke," he said with his 'serious business' voice. "If you would direct your attention to the big screen, I will play the profile for your assignment."

Simply, Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei turned to face the big screen. On it was the profile for the demon.

"Your assignment is a cat demon by the name of Ido Ichigama. She's quite the mischievous character, she is. She's a master cat burglar with the power of levitation."

They were now looking at the picture of a young looking demon girl with dark tan skin and short blonde hair. She had yellow cat ears with black tips and green cat eyes. She was looking rather displeased as she had stuck her tongue out for her picture.

"This is my assignment?" Yusuke mocked.

Something in Kurama's memory, a fathom deep, clicked and Kurama now found himself thinking back on his past as Yoko Kurama.

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It was a dark night and the master thief, Yoko Kurama, was making his escape from his previous heist when his nose caught the sent of burning wood and his ears the sound of a grieving child.

Intrigued by both his eagerness to search for anything to salvage and his curiosity to find out what happened he headed in the direction of the weeping.

He stopped dead still as his keen eyes lay witness to the most grim of scenes he had witnessed in his experienced life.

A young demon girl in a dirty blue kimono sat next to the impaled figure of what Kurama took to be her mother. The mother's eyes were still open, devoid of all life, seeming as if they were peering into the back of her mind. Her mouth was gaping open and her purple kimono was charred and stained with blood.

This lay before the burning ruins of what must have been their home. A body could be seen hanging out of a window, burning on the spot, its flesh scarred with burns and boils.

A look to the side of the house revealed a ruined fence and the two slain bodies of a cow and horse. Chickens lay scattered and broken like twigs and debris about the blood strewn yard.

All the while, the horrified girl wept by the body of her dead mother and cried curses and vows of revenge into the wind.

Kurama dropped the bundle in his hands and walked over to the demon girl, who was, what Kurama soon found out, a cat demon. He shut his eyes to the burning home and looked down at the girl.

She looked up at him with innocent and scared green eyes, filled with tears and woe. She shrunk back and made to crawl away from the fox demon. Kurama lowered himself onto one knee and looked at the girl with a deep, sincere expression filled with intense determination.

"You cry your vows of revenge into the wind, girl," he said in a calm voice. "What I wish to know is do you mean them? For if they are nothing but an idol threat made by a fool anguished by the death of loved ones, my time here is wasted. Do you wish your revenge?"

Hesitantly, the girl nodded her head. "Yes . . . It is what I wish."

"Good," he said in reply. "I will extinguish this fire and give your family a proper burial. Then you will learn how to gain your revenge."

The girl's blonde hair was made red by the glowing light of the flames, her green eyes were made to sparkle like emeralds and her dark skin appeared to magnify the intense glow of the flames.

Kurama soon learned her name was Ido.

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Kurama's face was struck with such disbelief and surprise that he attracted the attention of the others.

"Kurama, you okay?" Yusuke asked.

"Huh?" Kurama snapped back to reality looking rather dazed. "Oh, yes. I'm fine."

"Do you know this girl?" Hiei asked.

It was at times like this that Kurama could've sworn Hiei was psychic.

"In fact, I do know her," he said as he looked back up at the screen.

Yusuke grinned. "Ooo! Does Kurama have a little girl friend? Eh? Eh?"

Kurama gave Yusuke an annoyed expression. (Like this! ï  T)

"Hardly," he said simply. "I met her a long time ago when I was Yoko Kurama. She was just a little girl, then, still wanting revenge."

"Revenge for what?" Yusuke asked, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket.

"She wanted revenge for the murder of her family," Koenma interjected. "It's all on her file. Her family was part of an Uchiudo (or rogue village) clan. There was a war between two demon clans and her village was caught in the middle. Ever since then, the enemy clans have been picking off members of the village, trying to exterminate them before they could get too rowdy or join the other side."

Yusuke and Hiei looked at Koenma then at Kurama.

"That's what happened, Kurama?" Hiei asked.

Kurama nodded his reply. "Koenma, I would like to take this assignment, if Yusuke doesn't mind."

"What?!" Yusuke exclaimed. "No way! I haven't had an assignment in weeks!"

Hiei glared at Yusuke. "Have you no brain? This is a personal issue for Kurama and I'm sure he doesn't want your dumb ass in the way."

"WATCH WHO YOU'RE CALLING A DUMB ASS, SHORT CAKE!!!"

"ARE YOU CALLING ME SHORT?!?!"

"IF THE SHOE FITS, SHORTY!!"

"THAT'S IT!!!!"

"BOYS!" Koenma interjected. "That's enough!! Kurama, you may accompany Yusuke on his assignment. Case closed. And look at it this way, Hiei. You're taller than me!"

"WHAT WAS THAT?!"

But Hiei was cut off for Koenma had pushed the new, shiny red button on his desk and the floor beneath the three fell out.

Koenma grinned sinisterly. "I'm glad I put in that new trap door! HEE! HEE! HEE!!!"

Mischievous green eyes danced with glee as they looked down at the tiny, almost ant-like figures of humans, bustling about on their 'important' business. These eyes were in the head of a young demon girl by the name of Ido, or, to her demon posse, Ido the Trick Mistress.

Ido smirked maliciously as she formed another plan in her head.

"I wonder what my next trick will be. Human authorities are already stir crazy trying to figure out who I am, so maybe I should mess with them some more?"

"How about no for an answer?"

Her pierced cat ears perked and she turned about to face the Spirit Detective, Yusuke Urameshi. Ido was sitting on the ledge of the building, her slender cat tail curling and waving about,

"Oh? Could this be the infamous Spirit Detective? It took you long enough."

She hopped up to her feet nimbly and gracefully as she walked back and forth on the edge of the ledge. (I rhymed!)

She wore a white button up blouse with flared sleeves. It was unbuttoned at the belly and she wore dark purple pants and black shoes. She had gold bracelets on her wrists as well as on her ankles and she looked like a gypsy.

"So? Aren't you gonna TRY to arrest me?" she said, placing her hands on her hips.

She leapt down from the ledge and walked toward the rather calm looking Yusuke. He had his hands in the pockets of his jacket with a rather smug look on his face.

"Not yet. I thought I'd give my buddy a chance to meet an old friend first."

"Your buddy?" she said, looking perplexed.

Yusuke pointed his finger behind her and she turned around.

"I don't know him," she said as she scratched her head.

"Well," Kurama said, shrugging his shoulders, "not in this form." With a flash of power, the peaceful human form of Kurama was replaced with the form of his counter part, Yoko Kurama.

(You see, Koenma had lent Kurama this potion that would enable him to transform into Yoko Kurama for exactly two hours.)

Ido's eyes went wide and her hand came up to cover her mouth in shock.

"K-Kurama? Is that you?!"

TO BE CONTINUED . . .

Author's Note: Well, that's it for chapter one. You'll get chapter two later. Well? What did you all think? Send me your reviews, please! I'd greatly appreciate it. I've been concocting an idea for a serious YYH fan fic for a while now and, by George, I think I've got it! But I can't be sure if I've got it or not unless you all say so, so start sending your reviews please!

Oh! And if you've got any ideas for the next chapter or for a story of mine that you've read and might want me to continue, please, don't hesitate to say so.

Forever writing, gametaken.


	2. Yu Yu Hakusho: Remember the Child ch2

Yu Yu Hakusho – Remember the Child

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Yu Yu Hakusho the animated series, nor do I own the manga.

Author's Note: (When you spot a (!) that means that there's a little foot note on whatever the mark follows like honorifics, so make sure to read it!) A new assignment for the Spirit Detective, Yusuke Urameshi, has brought back troubled memories for the kitsune, Kurama. Memories of his past as Yoko Kurama when he chanced upon a young demon girl weeping over the impaled body of her mother, and the burning casket that was her home, more dead bodies burning in the ruins. Yoko Kurama made a promise to this grieving girl. It was a promise to help her reach her vengeance for her family and her Uchiudo (or rogue village) clan, caught in the middle of a feud between two demon clans.

Now Kurama has joined Yusuke in search of this cat demon named Ido, who was causing havoc in the human world, in hope that he could tie the severed bonds between Ido and his self. This is where our story begins . . . .

Yoko Kurama stood before the shocked cat demon, surging with the power his human body lacked.

"It is me, Ido-kohai (!)," Kurama said, stepping forward towards Ido.

Her face was crestfallen as he approached her. She dropped to her knees as she gave a low bow to her sensei.

"Revenge has yet to be accomplished, Sensei," she said, still not looking up at the kitsune's stern eyes. "I'm still . . . too weak."

"Rise," Kurama said simply.

She rose to her feet, still looking down as if afraid to meet the hard gaze of her sensei. (I say he's her sensei because for her entire child hood after the annihilation of her family and up to the attempted heist that led to the kitsune Kurama's search for a human body, Kurama has been teaching her how to fight, how to steal, how to be strong in the face of danger. He taught her how to gain revenge.)

Yusuke looked in confusion as the two went on about the business of reminiscing.

'Wow, this is getting complicated,' Yusuke thought, scratching his head.

"It takes time," Kurama said, "to gain true revenge, Kohai (!). You've plenty of time ahead of you to do it. You don't need to be here causing all this trouble for the humans."

She finally gained the strength to look into those keen, golden eyes. She said, "I've been trying to gain allies, Sensei. There were none in the demon world willing to help me, but here, in the human world, there are plenty of demons willing to help."

"Yeah, and from the looks of it, you built yourself a pretty nice posse," Yusuke said, looking at what surrounded them.

The three were surrounded by a ring of rather rough looking demons. There were seven demons there. A tall, female kitsune with flame red hair and dark skin, a burly ogre with a scar over his left eye and a mace over his shoulder, a short ice apparition, a wolf demon with long, silver hair and a smirk on his face, a rather dark looking demon woman with bat wings and a voluptuous figure, a short, childish looking raccoon demon with fuzzy brown hair and a small fang poking out of his grin, and what appeared to be a human with purple spiked hair and a pierced eye brow.

The short ice apparition with spiky blue hair and ice cold eyes came forth with a wakasashi (or short katana) at his side.

"Ido-dono (!), are these pests bothering you?" he said coldly.

He walked up to Yusuke, who was scratching his ear, and looked at him coldly, sizing him up. He then turned his gaze towards Kurama, deciding Yusuke was no threat.

"Ido-dono?" Kurama said with a surprised voice.

The short apparition looked at Kurama with a cold glare. "Yes, Ido-dono. Have some respect and use an honorific when addressing Ido-dono."

"Well, it looks like you've got loyal followers, Ido-chan," he said, looking back at the apparition with a glare of his own.

"Yes, Sensei, I'm lucky to have found this many, yet I believe it still isn't enough."

Ido turned to the apparition with a kind smile and said, "Kyo-kohai, this is my Sensei, Kurama-dono. I told you all about him, remember?"

The female kitsune let out a low whistle and smirked as she leaned on the ogre. "So, he's the infamous Yoko Kurama, the king of all thieves?"

The ogre grunted. "Looks kind of scrawny to me," he said gruffly.

The woman with the bat wings toyed with her long, pale green hair and laughed as she said, "Watch what you say, Jin-kun. Appearances can be deceiving."

Jin let out another grunt as he gripped his mace. "We'll see about that," he said, taking a step forward.

"Kohai! That's enough," Ido said, her voice stern. "Show some respect. This is the man that took me in and taught me everything I know today. It's because of him that we all stand here today as a team."

Kyo gripped the handle of his wakasashi, still glaring at Kurama.

The wolf demon raised a hand and said, "Question. What happened to the other dude with the red hair?"

Ido looked back to Kurama and said, "That's something I'm not so sure about. What were you doing in a form like that, Sensei?"

Kurama sighed and explained the situation to listening ears. All the while, Yusuke was looking at Ido's entire posse, trying to figure out how hard it would be to bring them all in.

'That Kyo guy doesn't look too tough. Jin might be a small problem. That fox chick and the wolf guy might be pretty fast so I might, MIGHT have trouble with aiming. That little kid won't be a problem at all, but I'm not so sure about that woman with the bat wings. Keiko would kill me if I ever said this, but WOW! What a figure!' Yusuke thought this all to himself, passing his glances over the faces as he thought.

The bat woman glanced over at Yusuke and smirked. She stopped toying with her hair and walked – no, GLIDED over to him. She wore a skin tight, black out fit with purple bat patterns all over it. She didn't carry a weapon, but something told Yusuke she didn't need any. Yusuke jumped as she stopped at his side. It was so quick and unexpected.

"You know," she said with a devious voice, "you should be careful with your thoughts. They might leak in to the wrong mind."

Ido laughed at Yusuke's expression at what the woman said. "Morgan-chan (!) is a telepath, Yusuke-kun."

Yusuke's face was red as he turned to Ido and said, "NOW you tell me!!"

Morgana laughed hotly and placed a hand on his shoulder as she leaned in close to Yusuke's ear.

"I want to thank you for the compliment," she whispered in his ear. "I always appreciate them."

She inched closer to his neck and long, white fangs grew from her canines.

"Morgana-chan!!" Ido interrupted. "Fangs off, ok? You don't want Koenma all over your tail, do you?"

Morgana glided back away from Yusuke, quickly and silently with a slightly worried expression. Koenma was one of the only beings that could ever extinguish her vampirotic (!) abilities. A chill shot up Yusuke's spine as he watched Morgana glide behind Ido.

Kurama looked at the woman hiding behind the young cat demon.

Ido noticed this and said, "Morgana-chan was the first one to join me, Sensei. It was only a month after you were forced to enter a human body."

"She's our veteran, so to speak," the wolf demon put in.

Morgana hissed at him, her fangs long and hazardous looking. "Watch your tongue, Rikimaru-kun! Or you'll have it cut out!"

Rikimaru stuck his tongue out at her and grinned. "Well, there you go, Morgan-chan! I'm practically handing it to you."

The raccoon child demon laughed as he stood behind Rikimaru. Morgana glided with godlike speed at Rikimaru. So fast, in fact, the Rikimaru barely had time to react.

Morgana grabbed his throat in a choke hold, her fingers growing long like talons. "Be careful what you wish for, baka! It just might come true."

Rikimaru released a bark-like growl, his canines bared and his blue eyes narrow and cold. "You'd better let go, you succubus, or I'll chew your arm off!"

"E-NOUGH!!!" Ido exclaimed, looking rather angry. "Quit acting so childish!!"

The raccoon child was still giggling and was barely through when he said, "I-it's not Riki's fault, Ido-dono! Ha-ha! Morgana-chan's so touchy about her age, even though (chuckle) she's more than a century old!! Ha-ha-ha!!"

Morgana released her grip on Rikimaru's throat and hissed at the boy. "You no good rat, Puck! I told you to shut-up about that!!"

Puck jumped about three feet into the air and jumped up onto Jin's shoulder. He stuck his tongue out at her and laughed some more.

Ido sighed, embarrassed by their behavior, and said, "As you can see, I have a lot of work to do."

Kurama busted out laughing, holding a hand to his stomach as he did so. The others looked over at the guffawing kitsune.

"What's so funny?!" Morgana hissed.

Ido smirked and an anime sweat drop fell down her face.

Kurama finally stopped his laughing and placed a hand on Ido's shoulder as he said, "Ido-kohai, this a shoddy excuse of a team you've got here."

At this, the entire group glared at him and said simultaneously, "WHAT?!?"

"You heard me," Kurama said with a smirk. "If you were ever caught in the middle of a war between two demon clans, you wouldn't last 30 minutes."

The female kitsune crossed her arms and glared at Kurama and said, "Normally, I wouldn't hate a fellow kitsune like you, but who the HELL do you think you are? Who are you to say how we'll do in a fight?"

Rikimaru huffed and said, "Yeah, Ayame-chan's right! Ido-dono, I don't care for your Sensei's comments. No offense intended, Ido-dono, but he's kind of rude."

"I'm only telling you the truth! The way you're acting now, you'll never be able to use your strengths affectively."

"And I suppose you could teach us?" Ayame asked skeptically.

Kurama shrugged. "Perhaps."

Ido smiled widely. "This'll be so great! I may not have been able to fully teach you everything my Sensei taught me, but now you'll all be learning from the master!"

Yusuke stood looking rather disgruntled. "When am I going to actually do the act of arresting some body, Kurama?!"

"Oh, great," said Puck.

"Ugh, that doesn't mean we'll have to sweat, will it?" Morgana grimaced at the thought of training.

TO BE CONTINUED. . . .

Author's Note: TA-DAA!! Tell me what you think! I don't think I ever got any reviews on the first chapter. (Such sadness!) But, I'm gonna go ahead and stick this one in cause I think it'll be a good story. But, of course, I can't tell if it's really good or not unless I have some one tell me if it's good or if it sucks ass. SO TELL ME!! I need to know so I can make it not suck. Thank you.

Forever writing, gametaken.

Japanese Honorifics: (!) # 1

-san: This is the most common honorific, and is equivalent to Mr., Miss, Ms., Mrs., etc. It is the all-purpose honorific and can be used in any situation where politeness is required.

-sama: This is one level higher than "-san." It is used to confer great respect.

-dono: This comes from the word "tono," which means "lord." It is even a higher level than "-sama," and confers utmost respect.

-kun: This suffix is used at the end of boys' names to express familiarity or endearment. It is also sometimes used by men among friends, or when addressing someone younger or of a lower station.

-chan: This is used to express endearment, mostly toward girl. It is also used for little boys, pets, and even among lovers. It gives a sense of childish cuteness.

Sempai: This title suggests that the addressee is one's "senior" in a group or organization. It is most often used in a school setting, where underclassmen refer to their upperclassmen as "sempai." It can also be used in the workplace, such as when a newer employee addresses an employee who has seniority in the company.

Kohai: This is the opposite of "-sempai," and is used toward underclassmen in school or newcomers in the workplace. It connotes that the addressee is of lower station.

Sensei: Literally meaning "one who has come before," this title is used for teachers, doctors, or masters of any profession or art.

blank: Usually forgotten in these lists, but perhaps the most significant difference between Japanese and English. The lack of honorific means that the speaker has permission to address the person in a very intimate way. Usually, only family, spouses, or very close friends have this kind of permission. Known as "yobisute," it can be gratifying when someone who has earned the intimacy starts to call one by one's name without an honorific. But when that intimacy hasn't been earned, it can also be very insulting.

(!) # 2: Vampirotic

Yes, I know. I made up a word cuz I couldn't find a real word that fit there.


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